Harboring a felon bill fails to pass, again

A bill that would have allowed prosecutors to charge people who hide their relatives from the law or destroy evidence failed to pass the Legislature again Thursday, as it has for a decade.

The bill would have removed an exception in Wisconsin law that forbids family members from being charged in such cases. Prosecutors and police have said the exception hampers investigations. The Journal Sentinel has documented cases where family members could not be charged with harboring in homicide cases, part of an ongoing series examining breakdowns in the criminal justice system.

Wisconsin is among about a dozen other states have exceptions for family who help fugitive relatives, but the law here exempts more relatives and permits them to do more to thwart law enforcement without fear of prosecution. Illinois also has an exception. Lawmakers there are considering eliminating it, following an investigation by the Chicago Tribune.

The Wisconsin bill, sponsored by Rep. Peggy Krusick (D-Milwaukee), passed the Assembly, 76-18. It also passed a Senate committee, 3-2, with Sens Fred Risser (D-Madison) and Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton) opposed. It was before the full Senate.

However, because this was the last day of the session, if there was opposition to a bill on the Senate floor, it would have required a two-thirds vote to take action. Also, any senator could have use a procedural move to delay the bill by a day, killing it, according to Andrew Welhouse, spokesman for Sen. Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau), the Senate majority leader.

Welhouse said Fitzgerald has not heard of strong support among Senate Democrats to bring up the bill. Because of the likelihood it would be blocked, the bill was not taken up. The Senate may come back for a limited session in late April, but Welhouse said it is unlikely the harboring bill or other stalled measures would be taken up at that time.

The Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence was opposed to the bill, saying it would not do enough to protect victims who may be forced to help family members. Krusick has said she wants to leave that decision to prosecutor's discretion. Krusick was not immediately available for comment Thursday.

Risser and Erpenbach did not return calls Thursday on their opposition. Sen. Lena Taylor (D-Milwaukee) has long been opposed to the legislation and blocked it in past years when she chaired a Senate committee. Taylor also did not return a call.

Sen. Tim Carpenter (D-Milwaukee) supported the bill and said early Thursday he would push inside the Democratic caucus for fellow party members who are opposed to the measure to at least allow a full Senate vote.

"I would hope no member would attempt to procedurally block something that has this much bipartisan support," he said. "This is a great bill."

Rep. Garey Bies (R-Sister Bay), a co-sponsor, said he lobbied for the bill until the end.

"I am disappointed," Bies said. "Law enforcement needs this tool. If it passed, word would get out pretty fast."

The measure was known as Joey's Law, after Joey George, who was murdered in Oak Creek more than a decade ago. The suspects were helped by friends and family.

Joey's grandmother, Shirley George, has been pushing the measure since then. She started in October 2000. She never thought it would take this long.

"It just so disheartening," George said. "The whole reason I started this and I kept along with it is I didn't want other families going through what we went through. I did it all because of our love for Joey."

About John Diedrich

John Diedrich writes about crime, federal issues, ultimate fighting and guns. His investigations have been honored with various national awards including a George Polk Award for reporting on rogue gun stores and an IRE award for exposing botched undercover federal stings.